Although state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen deemed Obama's health-care reform null and void in Wisconsin in the aftermath of a Florida judge's ruling, the immediate ramifications of the declaration and the future of the law remain ambiguous.
State Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement Van Hollen's declaration is false.
""The state of Wisconsin is bound by acts of Congress, not by the orders of one judge on the other side of the country,"" Richards said.
UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber said Van Hollen does in fact have the authority to make such a declaration, as Wisconsin was party to the Florida lawsuit, but it is ""not entirely clear what the binding force of a declaratory judgment is.""
Because the suit is expected to go to the Supreme Court, Schweber also said there will likely be a stay placed on the case, which would freeze the law until a further ruling is made.
Assistant Attorney General Steve Means said he also expects a stay will be placed on the case, but that by doing so, Democrats will be contradicting their claim that the law can be implemented anyway.
The reason why Wisconsin ended up party to a Florida court case to begin with, according to Schweber, is because Van Hollen was ""forum shopping"" for a case that would come out with a favorable outcome for Wisconsin's Republican administration.
""They chose this lawsuit in front of this judge, because they expected an outcome they liked,"" Schweber said. ""It's a manipulation of the federal system, but it's not a violation of that system.""
However, Means denied they entered the lawsuit with any anticipation of the outcome.
""We wanted to join the suit because we felt the challenge was right,"" Means said. ""There was no way to predict which way [the judge] would go.""
As for the outcome if the lawsuit makes it to the Supreme Court, Means is confident the law will be struck down.
Schweber said it is likely to be a 5-4 ruling, depending on where Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy stands.
""Frankly I wouldn't want to bet money on which way it will go,"" Schweber said.
